The chest harness known as the `Varangian Bra' is a leather harness
consisting of a breast strap with two shoulder straps going over each shoulder,
connecting the front and back of the breast strap 1.
There are a number of supposed depictions of the chest harness appearing
in a number of pictorial sources of Byzantine origin but fails to be mentioned
in any of the military manuals of the period 2.
The questions are: did this piece of equipment originate in Persia and
was later adopted from the Persians after interaction in warfare; or was
it just a development of the stylized form of Byzantine art depicting a
piece of classical body armour, and does this research effect the use of
such a chest harness in historical re-enactment of the period.

There was a fair amount of information transfer between the Byzantines
and the Persians around the 6th and 7th century. Haldon agrees with Dennis
that the Byzantines made frequent adaptations of their foes' arms, armour
and tactics 3. The evidence that the Persians
had a chest harness first is provided by three dishes from the between
the 5th and 7th century depicting three Sassanid kings hunting using a
recurve bow 4. The Persian chest harnesses
depicted on the dishes have a circular disc in the centre of the chest,
which would suggest a central buckle 5 (See
figure
1.) whereas the Byzantine sources show no such arrangement. The Byzantine
sources showing both front and rear views of soldiers wearing the chest
harness but not showing any evidence of a buckle, so the way in which such
a harness would have been done up is unresolved (maybe the buckle is under
an arm).

As previously stated, there was a fair amount of information transfer
going on between the Persians and the Byzantines, this could easily have
included a version of the chest harness. The fact that the chest harness
is not mentioned by any military writers of the times could be put down
to either; the chest harness was not officially part of a Byzantine soldier's
panoply or that it was only a provincial accoutrement beneath the notice
of the treatise writers.

Figure 2. A piece from a 10th century Byzantine
ivory chest showing a number of Skutatoi wearing the chest harness over
what appears to be lamellar and the two Skutatoi are wearing the chest
harness over either gambeson or solid leather armour (Victoria and Albert
Museum, London).

Figure 3. Another 10th century ivory panel depicting
Skutatoi, the armour differs from figure 2. with the addition of pteruges
to the corselets (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York).

The second theory as to the possible origin of the chest harness is
that it was actually a development of stylized manuscript depiction of
classical body armour. If you compare the Roman soldiers shoulder and torso
armour (lorica segmentata) depicted on Trajan's Column with the armour
in the 10th century illumination of David & Goliath from the Paris
Psalter, then look at the later depictions showing the chest harness you
will see the striking resemblance. See figures 4 &
5.
If the Byzantine artists follow convention and copied previous works, with
variations over time the shoulder and torso armour could become what some
believe to be a chest harness.

Figure 5. The 10th century illumination of David
and Goliath from the Paris Psalter (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris).
Note the way the armour covering the shoulder is illustrated.

According to Heath the Joshua Roll (c.1000) shows both infantry and
cavalry wearing the chest harness. See figure 6.
The two ivory panels (Figures 2 & 3)
indicate that the chest harness was used either over lamellar, scale, solid
torso armour (eg classical body armour) or padded armour, but not mail.
It alsodoes not appear to be attached to the shoulder piece of
the armour worn underneath.

Figure 6. From the Joshua Roll (dated to the
first half of the 10th century (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome).
Note the appearance of the body armour on both infantry and cavalry.

Angus McBride's drawing and Heaths accompanying explanation of a Varangian
(F2) argues that a Varangians who after long service in the body
guard would have changed or renewed his equipment from Byzantine sources,
and would have obtained such a chest harness. The only evidence Heath uses
to support this theorem is that Anna Comnena wrote that the Varangians
took full advantage of the Imperial arsenals to supplement their own equipment.

If the chest harness did actually exist then I am in favour of the Persian
connection, whereas the transition in Byzantine art needs more proof. If
the chest harness was a regular piece of Byzantine Army equipment then
is was more that likely worn over lamellar or scale. However, the lack
of mention in the Military treatises makes its official use questionable.
The question of where the buckle was situated is still un-resolved and
so someone else will have answer that question.

It cannot be stressed enough that primary sources must be used first
any such research and secondary sources (eg. Heath's Byzantine Armies)
used only to support your arguments.

According to recent discussion with my peers, the Bayeux Tapestry is
also a supposed source showing a chest harness. By popular belief the square
shown on the chest of some of the Norman Knights is the mail flap which
when tied in place protects the throat and chin of the wearer (an early
version of the ventail). There is however also one Norman warrior pictured
in the early part of the tapestry where Duke William, Harald and the Duke's
knights set off to punish one of Williams vassal's in Brittany, who appears
to wearing a harness over his mail shirt rather than the square depicted
on the chest of his fellows. This should be viewed with caution since it
could be put down to simply a variation in the artistic representation
of the mail ventail. See figure 7.

Figure 7. Duke William heading of to castigate some of his vassal's
in Brittany, note the chest of his armour. It could be a chest harness
(Bayeux Tapestry).

Addenda 2 - Polovtsy's Funeral Statues - circa
XIIc

Alexander Lemeshko sent me a jpg after reading my article on the subject,
the jpg was taken from "Arxeologiya SSSR", volume "Eurasian steppes
during middle ages", published in 1985. This adds another bit to the puzzle.
Did the Eurasians get it from Byzantines or the Persians?

Footnotes

1 The actual origin of the name 'Varangian
Bra' is uncertain other than it is inferred by Heath.

2: Ibid p18. A similar Sassanid dish depicting King Ardashir III (AD
628-30) hunting with a recurve bow on horseback.

3: Ibid p42. A 6th/7th Persian dish depicting a Sassanid King hunting
with a recurve bow from camel back.

5 Ian Heath , Armies of the Dark Ages,
p 101. According to Heath, the late Sassanid Clibanarias armour included
a breastplate which was secured by straps which crossed at the back and
did up at the front by means of a clasp on the chest (eg. the equestrian
relief of Chosroes II at Taqi Bustan).